On February 24, the CFTC submitted for publication in the Federal Register a notice reopening the comment periods for the two Position Limit rulemakings, in anticipation of questions and comments that may arise from the...more

On February 5, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Broadwind Energy, Inc. (Broadwind), its former Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer for accounting and disclosure violations that, as the...more

Can private litigants bring claims under the Commodity Exchange Act alleging manipulation in ERCOT’s energy markets? On February 3, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas answered “no,” granting...more

On January 16, 2015, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined an asset manager, using financial instruments to hedge its clients’ risk, for failing to register as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). See Summit...more

A recent case highlights the importance of periodically reviewing an energy company's marketing materials and related activities (including statements made on websites) to ensure that the company is not holding itself out --...more

Welcome 2015!
We are coming off a solid economic performance in 2014 marked by improvements in hiring, wages and corporate investments. It has been a magnificent year for both the stock and bond markets, even with a...more

The Commission continues to focus on microcap fraud actions with two new manipulation cases involving penny stocks. In one a former registered representative acted as an unregistered broker and then engaged in a series of...more

We expect a modest strengthening of global growth over the next two years relative to 2013 and 2014, largely originating from the advanced economies, and the U.S. in particular. Growth in the emerging economies as a whole...more

A number of GCC governments, including those in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have set ambitious clean energy and energy efficiency targets. As the fastest growing region in the world, the GCC’s population is expected to grow...more

In this lw.com interview Latham & Watkins partner Harj Rai and associate Lee Irvine discuss how an issuance of green sukuk would allow Islamic investors, for the first time, access to ethical and socially responsible...more

This year has seen a resurgence of activity in the Middle East equity capital markets, with players such as National Commercial Bank and Qatar Petroleum in the spotlight and growing interest from both regional and...more

On November 6, Fitch released its updated criteria for rating securitizations in emerging markets. On November 5, DBRS released its methodology for rating companies in the automotive manufacturing industry. On November 5,...more

Could publicly offered solar bonds play a significant role in financing solar photovoltaic projects?
Solar energy company SolarCity Corporation appears to think so, as this morning it filed a registration statement...more

MiFID II is the latest piece in a package of European and global reforms impacting commodity derivatives and emissions traders, drawn up in response to concerns as to excessive speculation and volatility in the commodities...more

Several provisions of the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968 need to be brought up to date. Section 25100(i) is one of them. That section exempts from the qualification requirements of Sections 25110, 25120 and...more

Pepper partner and co-chair of the firm's Funds Services Group, Julia D. Corelli, recently presented at a special luncheon for the CFA Society of Philadelphia where she discussed how PE firms' fees and expenses are being...more

On October 2, 2014, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois announced the indictment of Michael Coscia, the owner of Panther Energy Trading (“Panther”), for six counts of commodities fraud and six counts of...more

The CFTC has published its final rule to exclude most swaps used for hedging purposes by municipal and other governmental utilities from counting against the $25 million swap dealer de minimis threshold that currently applies...more